May 4th 2018: # 04

Principal’s Report 1

Assistant Principal’s Report GTAC Visit

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A Day At The UN 4

The Math Show Out Door Ed Trips SPD Aths - Ballam Park Library Focus Career News Student Wellbeing Creative Cakes Community News Advertising

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Dates to Remember

Monday -7th May Immunisations Tuesday 8th May Cross Country Wednesday - 9th May 5Up visit from Primary Thursday - 10th May Senior Sport Monday 14th - 18th May Work Experience 2018 Tuesday 15th - 17th May NAPLAN Thursday - 17th May Year 8 Sport

Contents

Principal’s Report; 4th May 2018 School Board Election (Student Category) 2018

As previously advised we have now commenced the process for the election of

student representatives to the School Board. Nominations closed last week with three

students putting up their hands to take on the role of representing the voice of the

student body on the School Board. Each of the nominees, Taasha, Rhlyee and Bayley

presented a brief speech to students at our last full school assembly and the ballot

opened for students to vote on Thursday May 3. The ballot closes next week on May

9 @ 16:00. Either myself or Mrs Johnson will be visiting year level groups of

students to offer them the opportunity to vote in the election. So far the opportunity

has been enthusiastically taken up by students in Years 9 & 10.

The next meeting of the School Board is scheduled for May 21st. The student

representatives will be in attendance at this meeting.

A similar student selection/election process will be commencing shortly to

democratically elect Form and Year Level Leaders to the Student Representative

Council of the school.

Parent Teacher Student Interviews

Thank you to the parents and students who attended the more than 400 interviews

during our Parent-Teacher-Student conferences in Week 1 of the term. These

interviews are an essential way for parents to be kept informed of student progress at

the mid-point of the First Semester.

Parents should also be checking the Compass Parent Portal for information on

individual Learning and Assessment Task performance as these are progressively

completed during the semester. The link to the Compass Parent Portal is:

https://somervillesc-vic.compass.education

Student Learning Devices

Many Year 7 Parents have now placed orders on the BYOD portal to provide a

Student Learning Device (SLD) for their son/daughter. I encourage as many parents

as possible to join the BYOD program as the school’s delivery methodology (via

Compass) works best when students have full time access to a learning device. Please

visit http://somervillescbyod.orderportal.com.au/ (clickable from the school’s

homepage) to look at the options and join the program.

‘Five-Up’ Program Our highly successfully ‘Five-Up’ program will recommence on May 8th this year. The program invites all students in our surrounding primary schools to visit the college for a number of days during the next two terms to gain some familiarity with the college and to undertake lessons in Technology (Wood & 3D Modelling and Printing), Science, Food Technology, Drama, Music… Next week’s program commences with Baxter, Somerville and Somerville Rise Primary students working in mixed groups at the college. Feedback from primary school students last year was outstanding and I am sure the expanded program will be even more popular. NAPLAN

A reminder to all parents and students that NAPLAN testing will be conducted in

Week 5 of this semester. Students will be undertaking assessments in Reading,

Writing and Numeracy. Results will be reported back to parents in early Term 3.

Testing will be conducted from Tuesday May 15 through to Thursday May 17 with

catch-up sessions for individual students who missed tests on Friday May 18. A flyer

will be sent home shortly via students (and will be available via the school’s

webpage) to further inform parents.

Chris Lloyd

Principal

Assistant Principal’s Report

Page 2

As this is the first newsletter for the term I thought it an ideal time to discuss attendance and the importance of regularly attending school in order for all of our young people to succeed academically and ensure that they don’t fall behind socially or developmentally.

Right now being at school is your child’s most important job and they’re building habits that they will take into adult-hood. While it might not seem obvious, when they come to school you are learning about more than just Maths and English. They’re learning all sorts of skills like working in teams and meeting deadlines that will help when they’re an adult. If they can’t show up to school every day, how will they learn to show up for work?

Being at school every day also means they are involved in their own learning, interacting with other students and teachers - and are a part of an environment that is motivating and stimulating. Our students can get help from their teachers and friends and won’t have to rely on trying to learn things on their own.

“Children and young people who regularly attend school and complete Year 12, or an equivalent qualification, have:

Better health outcomes

Better employment outcomes

Higher incomes across their lives.”

DET Website, 4th May 2018

Top attendance tips for parents

We want to work in partnership with parents—act early if you have any concerns by contacting the school and asking for advice and support.

Remember that every day counts.

Act early if you have concerns about your child's attendance and connectedness to school.

There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes and their social connectedness.

Talk positively about school and the importance of attending every day.

Open and prompt communication with us about all absences is very important.

Avoid making routine medical and dental appointments during the school day or planning family holidays during the term.

Help your child maintain daily routines such as finishing homework and getting a good night’s sleep.

Don’t let your child stay home unless genuinely sick. Complaints of headaches or stomach aches may be signs of anxiety.

Reward appropriate behaviour and don’t unintentionally reward unwanted behaviour by letting children who stay home have access to their devices and the internet.

Katie Johnson

Assistant Principal

Forensic Solutions at GTAC by Year 10

Page 3

Our Year 10 Science students applied Gene Technologies in an effort to solve a Forensic puzzle. They also gained an understanding of the DNA molecules. The process of mitosis was observed during which the cell divided and equal amounts of DNA were given to the daughter cells.

Gaya Vazirani

Head of Science

Experience A Day At The United Nations!

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The Math Show

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“On Wednesday, the 18th of April, the Year 7 and 8 students were given the opportunity to attend The

Math Show. We all thought that it was really interesting to watch. It was exciting, fun and educational at

the same time. The magic show was very funny and also educational, the magician/comedian was very cre-

ative.

I (Lilly) was chosen to come up and impersonate the famous Mathematician Euclid. It was fun, hilarious

and quite embarrassing for me but I was glad I volunteered. He taught me a cool trick on an equation

which was really fun. We would like to watch the show again if another opportunity arises.”

By Lilly, Jeorja and Jorja 8A

Year 7 ‘The Math Show was fun and enjoyable, but still brain blowing. Some of the answers that he got were out of the world. It allows us to have fun but still learn at the same time’ - Bridget ‘Patrick was an excellent role model and was very entertaining. I think now from watching that show I have started to like Math more than I used to. Thank you for coming to our school and I'm sure everyone enjoyed it!!!’ Christina 7C!! ‘The Math Show was hilarious. Patrick made the show very entertaining by making jokes and keeping us laughing. It was interesting to learn about the past mathematicians and their lives and backgrounds. The magic tricks he showed us were so cool! Overall, it was a great experience’ - Kaitlyn ‘I think the Math Show was really entertaining because Patrick was really funny and he explained all the different people that are involved in Math’ - Jordyn

Out Door Ed Term 2 Snapshot

Page 6

VCE Outdoor Ed Surf Kayaking on Fri 20/04

9OES – Moorooduc Quarry Walk on Mon 30/04

SPD Athletics at Ballam Park

Page 7

SPD District Athletics – Monday 23 April @ Ballam Park

17 students braved the early fog at Ballam Park to proudly represent Somerville SC. All students performed to the

best of their ability in running, throwing and jumping events. Some notable performances were:

Miranda H – 1st 200m, 1st 400m, 3rd 100m, 3rd 800m

Rory E – 1st 200m, 2nd 100m

Nick D - 3rd 400m

Russel L – 2nd Discus, 3rd Long Jump, 3rd 200m

Nixon R – 3rd Long Jump

Logan B – 3rd Javelin

Sky G – 3rd Long jump

Sebastian H – 3rd 200m

Nelson R – 2nd Shot Put

Michael W – 2nd 800m, 2nd 1500m

Harrison F – 3rd High Jump, 3rd Long Jump

Congratulations to all of our District Athletes! Miranda and Rory have qualified to compete at SMR Athletics in October.

Literacy From The Start

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When should you start introducing your children to reading, stories, books and literacy? Day 1.

By reading to your baby, infant, toddler and child you will pass on so much more than an interesting story. With

humour, voice intonation, quality time together and a whole host of other concepts you are setting them up to have a

bright and enquiring mind. With so many adolescents today falling into the routine drudge of TV, DVDs, Xbox and

social media, they have lost their will to imagine. It is so much easier to be spoon-fed than to pick up a book and

make your mind do the entertaining. Young people who are introduced to reading have more of an advantage and a

better attitude to study than those not exposed to literature at an early age. Like using a muscle for the first time,

exercise burns at first before strengthening. Among our graduating successes are those who have strong ‘reading’

muscles! May is National Reading Month - with Morris Gleitzman (one of our favourite Australian authors) as our

very own Australian Children’s Laureate. Check out your local libraries for May Reading Activities.

Sue Curran

Library Manager

Herald Sun Article 24th April 2018

Good Job! - Somerville Careers News

Page 9

Students in Years 10 -12 and their parents will soon be able to communicate with the school more easily with the

introduction of the Somie Senior Facebook account.

The account will keep you informed about school happenings in the Senior School including information on

Course Counselling, reminders for Sports events, sharing of VCE resources and tips, job opportunities in the

community and information on University/TAFE open days.

Watch this space for more information in Term 2 and the official Launch Date.

Students in Years 9 & 10 have been busy researching potential careers using the Somerville SC Careers webpage. One of their favourites is the “Job and Career Information” link.

Amy Joseph

Careers/VETis Coordinator

(03) 5973 1000

Page 10

Student Wellbeing

School Nurse: Lil Cousens

As the secondary school nurse, I work as a member of the student wellbeing team, to improve the health and

wellbeing of students. The aim of a school nurse is to reduce negative health outcomes and risk taking behaviours

among young people, including drug and alcohol misuse, sexual health, tobacco smoking, eating disorders, obesity,

depression, suicide and injuries.

As the School Nurse, I facilitate health promotion and health education activities in the school, and have the ability to assist the school community to: Encourage healthier school communities Enhance the health of students Support students to make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing Develop greater connections for students at school, home and in the wider community Work with teachers to deliver health education sessions that may include sexual health, body image, safe partying Support transition for students from primary to secondary school and within secondary school year Assist students in getting in touch with other health services for additional information and support Often it is helpful for students to talk to parents or other family members about problems. If students would like support to do this the school nurse can help. Help can also be provided to individual students with information, guidance and support about a range of issues. I am available on Tuesday’s and Friday’s.

You can contact me on the main school phone number: (0359) 731 000

Lil Cousens

Childhood and adolescence can be a difficult and challenging time for some students.

One of the many ways school support staff help students deal with these challenges is by linking them to specialist staff on school-grounds.

ONPSYCH services and HEADSPACE are now available at

Somerville Secondary College.

Both offer services to students and their families at no cost under a Mental Health Care Plan. This entitles the student/family member to a maximum of 10 sessions per year.

To ensure the student is seen as quickly as possible we encourage you to follow these easy steps to obtain a GP referral:

Book a double appointment with your GP

Obtain a referral under the Better Access Initiative (Medicare Items 2715/2700)

Take the referral to your child’s school and ask the Student Welfare Coordinator

Page 11

Year 10 Creative Cakes

Crib Point Community Market Saturday, May 12th

9am to 1pm INDOOR & OUTDOOR STALLS

Busker and Treasure Hunt. AT Crib Point Community House, 7 Park Rd

Crib Point VIC 3919 New stall holders are welcome.

market@cpch.org.au

SOMERVILLE MARKET

At ST ANDREW'S CHURCH

Every 2nd Saturday of the month

(12th May)

8:30 am – 12:30 pm

Support your local stallholders

Inquiries: 59776980 (Graeme)

This semester I have had the pleasure to teach a group of enthusiastic young adults the art of cake making. In pairs

the students created, designed, researched, planned and produced a cup cake appropriate for 5-7 year olds. The task

culminated in a morning tea event. Twenty seven excited preps and their teachers attended the event on May 1st from

Somerville Rise Primary School. They chose their cup cake and voted for their favourite. The overall winners were

‘Octo’s’ and a close second to “Unicorns and Oreos’.

Well done to Lauren and Lucy, Caitlyn and Nataya. An amazing effort by the whole class and I hope a memorable learning experience.

Deborah Fleming

Food Technology

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